Is Nothing Phone 1 still worth buying?

    By
    Sudarshan Ravichandran
    -
    34

    Nothing is set to launch its second smartphone, aptly called Nothing Phone 2 on July 11. The brand has been teasing the features of the new handset for a while.

    Based on the leaks and official teasers, the latest smartphone from the company will be more expensive than its inaugural model. At present, it is known whether the older device will either receive a price cut or be discontinued.

    Even after almost a year since its release, the Nothing Phone 1 seems like a good deal for its asking price. So the question arises whether it is worth buying now or should you wait for its successor. We try to answer this question in this article.

    Should you buy Nothing Phone 1 now?

    The Nothing Phone 1 sells for around ₹30,000 and €400 in India and Europe, respectively. Sometimes, it can be had at an even cheaper price, courtesy of retailer deals.

    At this price, the Nothing Phone 1 continues to be a unique offering in all the markets it is being sold in. It not only has a standout design but also packs a good overall feature set. Thus, it is still worth buying.

    Nothing Phone 1
    Nothing Phone 1

    The device is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G Plus chipset. This chip is good enough for regular day-to-day usage and is even capable of playing resource-hungry games to some extent.

    Further, it comes with the most sought-after excellent 50 MP camera sensors on the rear, namely Sony IMX766 and Samsung JN1. These two sensors are paired with OIS-assisted wide and ultra-wide lenses respectively.

    The overall camera performance could be not satisfying for some. But you could get better output using appropriate GCam ports.

    Most importantly, the Nothing Phone is probably the best-looking smartphone from the front in its price segment. That’s because it has uniform bezels surrounding its 6.55-inch FHD+ 120Hz 10-bit OLED display.

    Though the transparent back and the ‘Glyph’ interface LED lights may not be for anyone, you can cover them with a case. Finally, it is probably the only handset in the range with support for wireless charging.

    Should you wait for Nothing Phone 2?

    The Nothing Phone 2 is set to launch on July 11. Though the device is in the news for a while due to leaks and teasers, not much is known about it. But thankfully, enough details are out to decide whether you should wait for its release.

    First and foremost, the Nothing Phone 2 will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 SoC, which is a much more powerful chipset than the one present inside the Nothing Phone 1. This is one of the main reasons why the successor will be almost double the price of the original.

    Nothing Phone (2) renders
    Nothing Phone 2 (Alleged)

    Further, leaked renders suggest that the upcoming handset will retain the tried and tested design of its predecessor. But it is worth noting that the brand refutes this leak.

    Though it is not confirmed, the Phone 2 will most probably offer a better camera experience. But we cannot say whether it will be better than smartphones in its range.

    In short, the Nothing Phone 2 will be better than the Nothing Phone 1. Also, it will receive an extra year of software support being a newer device.

    But at the same time, the next-gen Nothing handset will fall under the premium category. Thus, it will be as expensive as other premium phones and we can’t tell if it will be better than them right now.

    As of now, the Nothing Phone 2 is only worth waiting for if you are looking for a smartphone that looks like a Nothing Phone 1 but offers better features.

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